Meatable raises $35 million in fresh capital

Cultivated meat pioneer Meatable raises $35 million in fresh funding to scale and accelerate its pork products to market.

Cultivated meat company Meatable today announced the successful completion of a $35 million funding round. This brings the total amount raised to date to $95 million. The round was led by Agronomics, with Dutch impact fund Invest-NL joining as a new investor with a contribution of $17 million. Also participating again were existing investors, including BlueYard, Bridford, MilkyWay, DSM Venturing and Taavet Hinrikus (chairman and founder of Wise).

Farming has been revolutionized in the past 100 years to keep up with feeding a growing global population. Cultivated meat is the next revolution.

Daan Luining, Co-Founder & CTO Meatable

The fresh funds will primarily be used to further scale up the company's operational processes and accelerate its commercial launch. This scaling and process optimization aims to reduce production costs to competitive levels compared to conventional meat and expand production to commercial volumes. Starting in 2024, Meatable's products, including sausages and pork dumplings, will be available in select restaurants and retail outlets in Singapore. At the same time, the company is working to establish its presence in the United States. These moves underscore Meatable's goal of making cultured meat accessible to all without sacrificing taste and without harming animals, people or the planet.

The latest funding round will allow the company to scale up production in Singapore, and soon in the US, as it moves toward commercialization as part of its go-to-market strategy.

Jim Mellon, Co-Founder Agronomics

Technology for large-scale production of cultured meat

With growing global demand for meat, conventional animal agriculture is proving to be a significant burden on the environment. In vitro meat presents itself as part of the solution. According to a study by independent research firm CE Delft, cultured meat can reduce the environmental impact of conventional beef by up to 92% in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and 95% in terms of land use. This finding is also reflected in the investment trend, with nearly $900 million flowing into the sector from investors in 2022 alone, and the Netherlands making the world's largest public investment in cellular agriculture last year.

At Invest-NL we are genuinely excited about the pioneering endeavors undertaken by Meatable. Cultured meat has the potential to deliver unrivalled impact in terms of animal welfare, CO2 equivalent emission reduction, water use, land use and antibiotics abatement.

Bastiaan Gielink, Senior Investment Manager Invest-NL

Meatable uses novel approaches to produce cultured pork. This involves taking a sample of cells from an animal without causing it any harm. The natural growth process of the cells is then mimicked using patented opti-ox™ technology in combination with pluripotent stem cells. Thanks to this method, Meatable can produce real muscle and fat cells in just eight days - a speed that is 30 times faster than growing a pig the traditional way. This high efficiency allows Meatable to cost-effectively scale cultured meat production and offer a sustainable solution to this global problem.

Pioneering global expansion of the in vitro meat process.

To make an impact, cultured meat must be widely available. Meatable plans to launch its first commercial products in Singapore starting in 2024 and is working closely with the relevant authorities to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals. The company has already successfully held external tasting events in Singapore after receiving approval from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). In addition, Meatable has begun on-site production in collaboration with Esco Aster, the first and only commercially licensed cultured meat producer in Singapore. Collaboration with plant-based butcher Love Handle is also underway to jointly develop a product range.

In parallel with preparing for the Singapore market launch, the company is working to expand its presence in the United States and beyond. Recent regulatory developments have boosted confidence in the industry. The U.S. has granted approval for the sale of two companies' products for farmed meat. Companies in the Netherlands also received the green light for tasting events.